By John Ardoin
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| David Gockley. |
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Although the Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955, the company can be said to have truly come into its own in 1972 when David Gockley, then only 27, was named its general director. Gockley came to Texas with a sense of mission. He believed opera could and must be a living art form, and once he was given the reins of the company, he set about commissioning and staging new works as few other American companies had done before.
To date, he has presented 25 world premieres and six American premieres. Although many at first believed the commissioning of new works was a risky proposition, Gockley's faith and dynamic leadership slowly turned a lackluster regional company into one that provided its audiences with innovative challenges. He created for Houston a unique niche in contemporary opera production. Under Gockley's leadership, Houston also built a new opera house, and its company won a Tony, two Emmys, and two Grammy awards. It has toured to New York, Washington, Italy's La Scala Theater, Paris' Opera Bastille, Japan, Egypt, and twice to Britain's prestigious Edinburgh Festival.
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Wortham Theater Center, home of the Houston Grand Opera. |
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"Little Women" will mark the company's sixth appearance on GREAT PERFORMANCES (including the Emmy-winning NIXON IN CHINA in 1988). Seven of its productions have been recorded commercially, and its seasons are broadcast each year on NPR's World of Opera. In 1995, Houston became the first American opera company to simultaneously project a live performance onto a giant outdoor screen outside its home, the Wortham Theater Center. These simulcasts have attracted a diverse audience of over 3,000.
Another part of the company's attempt to reach as large a public as possible and to convert Houstonians to opera is its recently unveiled Multimedia Modular Stage, a state-of-the art portable outdoor theater. Using three projection screens to provide "scenery" and two large video screens for close-up images of the performers, it amounts to a first in opera production. In addition to the Modular Stage, Houston's outreach programs include "Opera to Go!," which carries performances in English for school children and their families, and its Opera Studio, which Gockley co-founded with composer Carlisle Floyd, a program that has given many exceptional young artists -- including "Little Women" composer Mark Adamo -- their first major break in forging an operatic career.
Photos: David Gockley and the Wortham Theater Center: Photo by Michael Hart, courtesy of Houston Grand Opera.
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